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India has re-elected Narendra Modi as prime minister, making him the second leader in India’s history to win a third term. But Indian analysts call the effects a shock, as Modi’s party lost at least 20% of its parliamentary seats, forcing it to rely on a coalition. As Nick Schifrin reports, this may be Modi’s way of governing after 10 years in power.
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Amna Nawaz:
India has re-elected Narendra Modi as minister, making him the second leader in the country’s history to win a third term.
But Indian analysts describe the effects as a shock, as Modi lost at least 20% of his parliamentary seats, forcing him to rely on a coalition.
And, as Nick Schifrin reports, perhaps this is how Modi governs after 10 years in power.
Nick Schifrin:
Tonight, at his party’s headquarters in New Delhi, Narendra Modi entered triumphantly despite an election that left him humble.
Narendra Modi, Prime Minister of India (through an interpreter):
For this blessing, I am indebted to all citizens. Today is an auspicious day.
Nick Schifrin:
Modi fought the election on his own behalf, promising an emerging and more powerful India. But many of the 640 million Indians who voted over seven weeks voted according to their wallets.
Sushant Singh, Yale University:
This was the economic crisis faced by a large number of Indians, especially those in rural areas and the most disadvantaged socioeconomic strata. And they are the ones who rejected Mr Modi – or the ones who voted against Mr Modi.
Nick Schifrin:
Sushant Singh is an Indian journalist and professor at Yale University. He claims that rural Indians concerned about the economy were concerned that Modi would modify the charter to revoke the special rights of disadvantaged communities, as opposition leader Rahul Gandhi said today.
Rahul Gandhi, Indian National Congress:
I am incredibly proud of the other peoples of India. I am incredibly proud of the other people who have resisted this attack on the Constitution.
Sushant Singh:
It sowed concern in the ranks of those vast masses of poor and uneducated Indians, who believe that anything that gives them political rights, anything that provides them with some kind of path to economic progress, has been. . . that is, it will most likely be swept away. .
And those two points combined to give what many would consider a surprising result.
Nick Schifrin:
Among those who voted against Modi was his own stronghold, the northern state of Uttar Pradesh. Modi’s party lost more than a portion of its seats, adding the district where, in January, Modi inaugurated a giant temple on the site of a demolished mosque.
Sushant Singh:
It is the state of the battlefield around which Modi’s party has won a majority in recent times. This is a surprising result in itself. And in fact, that sums up what happened in the Indian elections.
Nick Schifrin:
A decade of Modi’s rule has been partly explained by violence against minorities and repression against civil society, the opposition and press freedom. A coalition government could force Modi to slow down the process, Singh says.
Sushant Singh:
Because Modi is now a much weaker leader, a much weaker prime minister, who is dependent on his coalition partners, we will certainly see some of those establishments regain their voice, rediscover their voice, and start saying things they haven’t heard in a long time. . the last decade.
Joe Biden, President of the United States: Today, the partnership between our countries is stronger than ever.
Nick Schifrin:
But Modi has also managed to make India indispensable to U. S. plans in Asia, as the Indian military defends Indian territory against Chinese infantrymen and the U. S. expects India to stand up to China.
Sushant Singh:
Whoever governs India, any US administration, Republican or Democrat, will continue to work with India thanks to the China factor.
Nick Schifrin:
Cooperation between the U. S. and Modi will continue, but the guy who describes himself as a heaven-sent now finds himself facing the truth on the ground: that of voters.
For “PBS NewsHour,” my name is Nick Schifrin.
Zeba Warsi is a foreign affairs producer in Washington DC. She is a graduate of Columbia Journalism School and holds a master’s degree in political journalism.
As an associate manufacturer for the Foreign Affairs and Defense unit, Teresa writes and produces daily segments for the millions of audiences in the United States and beyond who count on PBS NewsHour for timely and actionable data on the biggest global issues. He has covered authoritarianism in Latin America, emerging violence in Haiti, human rights repression in Egypt, judicial reforms in Israel, and China’s 0-covid policy, among other topics. He also contributed to PBS NewsHour’s policy on the war in Ukraine, which named the 2023 duPont-Columbia Award winner.
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